page_title: Mirage of astronomical objects
section_title: Mirages versus refraction
hierarchical_section_title: Mirage of astronomical objects / Mirages versus refraction
caption_attribution_description: Superior Mirage of sunspot #930
context_page_description: A mirage of an astronomical object is a meteorological optical phenomenon, in which light rays are bent to produce distorted or multiple images of an astronomical object. The mirages might be observed for such celestial objects as the Sun, the Moon, the planets, bright stars, and very bright comets. The most commonly observed of these are sunset and sunrise mirages.
context_section_description: Mirages are distinguished from other phenomena caused by atmospheric refraction. One of the most prominent features of mirages is that a mirage might only produce images vertically, not sideways, while a simple refraction might distort and bend the images in any way.
  The distortion in both images displayed in this section was caused by refraction, but while the image on the left, which is a mirage, demonstrates only vertical distortion, the image on the right demonstrates distortion in all the ways possible. It is easier to see the vertical direction of the mirage not even at the mirage of the Sun itself, but rather at the mirage of a sunspot. As a matter of fact, it is at least a three-image mirage of a sunspot, and all these images show a clear vertical direction.
caption: Superior mirage (3-image mirage) of sunspot #930
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